Designer Tricia Foley Shares Her Tips For Stylishly Paring Down

Tricia Foley's pared-down sense of style is purposely hard to date. The designer and author inhabits an 18th-century farmhouse in the quiet hamlet of Yaphank, Long Island, a living laboratory that she's filled with the touchstones of her aesthetic: nubby neutrals in linen and jute, Wedgwood basalt-ware serving pieces from the 1700s, walls in ethereal shades of white.

Though the bones of the house are centuries old, her embellishments could exist in any era. "I always seek out things that are timeless, even though that's such a tired word," Foley says. The look is clean and spare but imbued with an indelible warmth. Hers are spaces in which the world recedes—calm, contemplative, and ideal for curling up in. "I love decoration," says the former magazine editor and consultant for such brands as Ralph Lauren and Waterworks. "But I'm more of a purist in terms of simple, functional design."

This serene ethos is well documented in her most recent book, Life/Style ($45, Rizzoli), and has earned her commissions from the likes of Isabella Rossellini and Chris Rock; she has worked on projects from the Hamptons to Ireland. Her latest endeavor is restoring a 1790 Federal-style house in Yaphank village. "I love design that's in it for the long run."

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